The Present
by hallhomestead
Summary: Alvin finds out about a secret present from Dave to Claire, and tries desperately to find it to see what it is.
1. Chapter 1

**The Present**

_by hallhomestead_

A/N: Ok ladies and gents. Let's get going.

I felt that I should get back into my favorite type of A&tC story; the CGI ones. So, here we are!

These short stories aren't like me, I know, but I think that I should write a couple shorts before I get back into writing my specialty: really, really, really long stories. This story also serves another purpose. I think that this would be a good place to make two big announcements.

First off, I'm going to, either tomorrow or Saturday, re-release _Alvin and the Chipmunks II_. This new release will take out all the A/Ns I stuck in there in front of the chapters, and will include some deleted scenes I excluded from the original. I will also correct the many spelling and grammar mistakes I had in my original release. I hope this will introduce new members to my writing, and will also be a fun way to have all you old readers to re-read. This will build hype for my second piece of big news…

Second off, the announcement you all were waiting for, I will be writing _Alvin and the Chipmunks III._

I will be focusing on, for a little bit at least, re-releasing A&tC II and a couple short stories about the CGI chipmunks, but I hope to start writing sometime in the next week or two. Be looking for that.

Finally, before we get started, I suggest you guys check out my newly redesigned author's page. It has news, bios of me and my characters, and links to tons of Chipmunk episodes (Thanks again mpkio2!) and other websites.

Oh, and this short, as with all of my new short stories, is CGI Chipmunks based, and takes place before the events of _A&tC_ _II, _so Dave and Claire aren't married, and the Chipettes are currently trudging their way across America to California.

Ok, that's it. Read on.

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Simon concentrated on a picture of Bob Dylan on the wall.

The eldest chipmunk had been trying, for the past twenty minutes, to ignore the loud yelling of his brother, who was trying to pry the location of a brightly covered box Dave had hidden somewhere in the house, but Simon's mental capacity for Alvin's voice had its limits, and was failing.

_How can he be so committed to finding Claire's present? _ Thought Simon, still desperately forcing Alvin's high pitched voice of his mind, _He doesn't even know what is inside of it! Why?! Why does he care so much!_

Simon knew this mental battle between Alvin and himself was lost, and he finally tore his eyes from the poster of Bob Dylan, and looked into his brother's face, which was a mere three inches from Simon's.

Alvin's furry face was so determined, it was almost comical. His blue eyes stood out the most; they had an almost unnatural fire in them, which was amplified by that fact Alvin's cheeks were puffed out as the chipmunk talked rapidly about how stupid Simon's glasses looked.

Simon sighed as he looked into Alvin's eyes. There was no way his brother was giving up anytime soon. Simon decided to try and beat him in a game of wits.

"Just give me one good reason," said Simon, taking his paws out of his hair, uncovering his ears, finally giving up trying to drown out the enraged protests of his brother with his sheer force of will, "I should tell you where it is Alvin. Dave made it very clear you weren't supposed to even _know_ about it, let alone see it,"

Alvin glowered at Simon with his arms crossed, "Well," said the chipmunk, "It's just that…well…never mind. You wouldn't understand," Alvin averted his gaze from Simon's face and looked awkwardly out the window. Simon glanced at Theodore, who was quietly observing the scene from the doorway, with raised eyebrows.

This strange silence didn't last long, as Alvin quickly turned back to Simon with a devilish smile and launched into trying out an impersonation of his brainy brother.

"Of course I can't give you the present Alvin!" the chipmunk closed his eyes and shook his furry head violently, nearly causing his red hat to come flying off. "That would be quite amoral and irresponsible!" Alvin pushed up imaginary glasses up his black nose, and grinned at Simon.

"Alvin," said Simon, slowly shaking his head, "Your immaturity never ceases to amaze and revolt me."

Alvin turned away from Simon continued along with his rant as Theodore, who had been watching nervously from the other side of the room, holding his tiny hands over his mouth, now ran on all fours over to the scene that Alvin was making, and rushed over to Simon.

"Sorry about all this Simon," said Theodore, looking nervously at his brother, "It's all my fault!"

"Don't feel too bad Teddy," said Simon, smiling tiredly at his smallest brother, "Nothing we can do about it now, except to wait for Alvin to calm down."

_Although, _thought Simon, as Alvin ignored Simon and Theodore's conversation and continued to do a demented imitation of him, _I wish that Theodore didn't tell Alvin about the present Dave got for Claire. Then things would be a lot easier._

Simon knew from experience, that Alvin would continue to act like this until he got what he wanted, or until he ran out of steam.

As Simon looked around the living room that, until three days ago when Dave finished building a miniature bedroom for the boys, had been where Simon and his brothers slept every night, he recounted the events this afternoon leading up to this argument with Alvin…

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"_Simon," said Dave to his oldest son, who was currently watching a show about sharks on TV, "You know Claire's birthday is today , right?"_

_Simon was engrossed in the program he was watching, and barely looked up at Dave as he answered, despite this surprising news. Dave had never mentioned the date of Claire's birthday before. "Oh, I know it was sometime this month, but didn't know it was coming up so soon," Simon resumed watching a shark brutally attacking a piece of meat in the water. _

_Dave glanced around the room, and sighed. It was trashed. Dave had bought Lucky Charms earlier in the week and this morning, he found the box empty, the living room trashed, and three very guilty looking Chipmunks bidding him a good morning._

_Dave shook his head, and continued talking to his son. "Well, I invited her over for dinner tonight, and I thought it would be thoughtful to go out and buy her a present! What'dya think?" _

_Simon, intrigued, looked up from the TV at Dave with a questioning look on his face. "You're going to let us go with you to pick it out?" Simon said with a raised eyebrow._

"_Yeah," said Dave, wondering why Simon was asking him this, "I thought it would be fun! Why, is there something I'm missing here?"_

_Simon simply pointed outside, and Dave followed his son's tiny finger, and saw his two other adoptive sons playing Pirates in the top branches of a small tree in the middle of the lawn._

_Alvin was wearing an eye patch and pirate hat while banishing a tiny plastic sword. He was slowly approaching a horrified Theodore, who had lost his sword in a brutal swordfight with Alvin, and was backing onto the edge of the branch he was standing on._

"_Good point," said Dave, his eyes widening as Theodore reached the edge of the branch, and fell to his knees, begging Alvin to let him keep his gold, "But I already took care of it; Claire is coming over to baby…er…chipmunk-sit for an hour, while you, me and Theodore head out to the store…I mean," said Dave with a wink, "Go to the dentist,"_

_Simon nodded his head in appreciation of Dave's well thought out plan._

_Dave glanced out the window again and frowned. "Go ahead and get in the car, Simon," said Dave, rising from his seat, "I'll go rescue Theodore"_

_Simon scurried off the couch, and paused on the floor as he saw from the window as Alvin began to take pieces of yellow colored paper from the pockets of Theodore, who was trying to both stop Alvin from stealing his 'gold' and not to fall off the branch. Simon shook his head at this as Dave entered his vision, and plucked Theodore off the tree, while talking calmly to an irate Alvin._

_Simon then rushed to the garage door, shaking his head._

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Soon after Dave and the two chipmunks got back from the 'dentist', and Dave had hidden his present, Claire realized she had forgotten her purse, and asked Dave to bring her home.

Dave reluctantly agreed, and the couple took off.

After this, Alvin began to get suspicious of where his two brothers had _really_ been (mostly because of Theodore's loud conversation with Simon about how "cool and fun picking out Claire's pres-uh…I mean…the dentist was") and soon, Alvin had disappeared into the bathroom, dragging a struggling Theodore behind him.

After two minutes of brutal interrogation by Alvin (which included dangling pieces of cake in front of his brother's face) Theodore broke, and told Alvin all about Dave's surprise present to Claire.

Simon, who had been hammering on bathroom door for a full minute, watched as a smug Alvin and an upset Theodore (who had frosting around his mouth) left the room and walked into the living room.

Simon sighed and followed the pair into the living room, knowing full well he was in for one heck of an ordeal.

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"Ok fine!" said Alvin, stopping his buck toothed impersonation of Simon reading a book about science, "I can find this stupid present on my own! Who needs you guys?" Alvin turned his back on his brothers, and began to run off towards the dining room.

Simon and Theodore glanced at each other, and both brothers scurried after Alvin. They knew that, given enough time, their determined brother could find the present Dave had hidden.

Simon and Theodore ran in front of Alvin to the doorway, and blocked his way, their tiny arms interlocking to make the doorway inaccessible to their brother.

Alvin smiled at Simon and Theodore, and rolled his eyes.

_This won't take long, _thought Alvin to himself, _I NEED to find out what Dave got for Claire's birthday…_

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A/N- Sorry guys, have to stop there.

I know this doesn't SEEM like such a long story, but trust me, this baby took me a shocking four hours to write (mostly because I had to completely rewrite it, cause the first draft was totally stupid), but you can hope for the second and final chapter sometime today or tomorrow.

So, remember, be looking for a couple more shorts from me, as well as a redux of _Alvin and the Chipmunks II _very soon, leading up to the release of _A&tC III._

Review, and check out my new author's page.

Cya!

-hallhomestead


	2. Chapter 2

**The Present: Part 2**

_by hallhomestead_

A/N: Grrr…

Yes, I am still mad that I couldn't finish this story last night, but, oh well. I was hoping to get started on my redux of _Alvin and the Chipmunks II, _but, too late now.

Well, that's about it. I hope to have the re-release of_ A&tC II _up tomorrow, but no promises.

Let's get started…

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Alvin smiled at his handiwork.

Within twenty seconds of being stopped from entering the dining room by Theodore and Simon, Alvin had both of them neatly tied to a table, struggling against their bonds.

Alvin, who always came prepared to a situation, had saved a Lucky Charms' marshmallow from this morning's assault on the living room in his sweater pocket, and when confronted by his brothers, had taken it out, and shoved the sugary shamrock into his mouth before Simon's and Theodore's disbelieving eyes.

Alvin's eyes slowly widened to alarming levels, and his body quickly began to quiver and soon shot into overdrive. The wild chipmunk had grabbed his two brothers by their sweaters and, despite their shocked cries, flew over to coffee table where Dave kept his magazines, and proceeded to rapidly tie the two chipmunks to the table with the drawstring from a curtain.

After another fifteen seconds of scrambling around the room wildly, Alvin was able to slow himself down to a stop in front of the coffee table where his two brothers were staring down at him with wide eyes. He grinned at them, and then turned his attention to examining his fingernails for dirt with a smug expression.

"Yeah, I'm pretty smart, huh guys?" Alvin glanced up from his paw and beamed at Simon and Theodore, who were much less impressed with Alvin then the arrogant chipmunk was. "I doubt even _you, _Simon, would have thought to have done _that._" Alvin seemed to be oozing vanity right then.

Simon, though still quite shocked at being dragged across the room at high speed and tied down to a coffee table, was able to roll his steel gray eyes, and mutter, "Not stupid enough to actually _make _myself lose control of my bodily functions, more like it."

Simon then shook his head to rid his head of the last strains of his surprise, and turned towards his gloating brother. "Yes Alvin," using a slow and patronizing tone he would usually only use on a small child, "That was _very _cool, right Theodore?" Simon nudged his smaller brother who was trapped by the drawstring right next to him. Simon only got a confused grunt in return; Theodore still was quite dazed from the leap from the other side of the living room, and seemed only able to look around himself with a confounded expression on his face.

Simon gave Alvin a pained smile, "Now, could you please untie Theodore and I, so we could-"

"'Fraid not Simon my boy," said Alvin, shaking his head rapidly from side to side, "You see," the chipmunk continued, with a excited look upon his tiny face, "I have a certain present to find," Alvin gave a slight bow to his brothers and then, after checking out his surroundings, ran off to the kitchen on all fours.

"Al-vin…" Simon growled.

The tallest Chipmunk took several deep breaths, and set to undoing the drawstring from the curtain Alvin had wrapped around him and Theodore. _Just wait till Dave gets back home with Claire… _Simon thought to himself with a furious grin, _then Alvin is dead meat…_

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Alvin ran into the kitchen, and skidded to a slow stop, his nails clicking on the tiled floor.

"Let's see if Dave picked out the _right _present for Claire…" said Alvin, his eyes narrowing as he examined the entirety of the small room.

Dave was cooking a chicken in the oven, and had a pot of mashed potatoes cooling on the counter next to the stove. But besides that, everything seemed to be in order; the towels seemed to the correct order on the rack labeled _Towels_, the pots seemed to be in the cabinet labeled _Pots_, the plates seemed to be in the drawer labeled _Plates, _the spoons were in the spoon drawer, the knifes were in the knife drawer, the forks were in the bowl drawer, the eggbeaters were in the…

_Wait! _Thought Alvin, his frenzied blue eyes shooting back to the bowl drawer, where a couple of stray forks were sticking out. _What are forks doing in the bowl drawer? Dave always keeps his kitchen in perfect order, not even a grain of salt out of place…_

Alvin ran up to the side of the counter, using his hind legs as leverage. He scurried across the granite countertop, and halted at the wooden drawer labeled _Bowls._ Alvin cocked his head, curiously staring at the four or five forks sticking out of the cracked open top of the drawer at odd angles.

Alvin, his limbs tense with anticipation, slowly reached down to the handle of the drawer, hoping against hope that the present was in hidden in this particular hiding spot. As the chipmunk grasped the brass handle of the drawer, his tiny heart beating, Alvin put his hands over his eyes, nervously whispering, "I can't look."

Alvin took a deep breath and, with a gasp, tore open the drawer. He opened his paws a crack so one bright blue eye peered through. Alvin looked down into the gaping maw of the bowl drawer to reveal…

A bunch of empty bowls.

Alvin let out a disappointed sigh, and let his shoulders fall down his small body. Alvin plopped down on the cold granite counter and put his head in his paws.

"Well," said the disappointed chipmunk, "I'm bound to find the present eventually. I mean," he looked around the room again with a downtrodden gaze, "There aren't that many hiding places in the hou-Hey!" said Alvin, his head shooting out of his paws as he noticed something he had missed in his original overlook of the small kitchen.

In the top corner of the room, sat a small bowl where Dave usually kept parsley for his more adventuresome cooking. But, as Alvin now saw, instead of parsley in this bowl, there was a small box that was covered in a colorful wrapping paper that Dave had obviously tried to hide. On its side, barely readable from the distance Alvin was reading from, said "Happy Birthday, Claire! Love, Dave and the Boys,"

Alvin jumped up from his perch on the side of the counter, let out a loud "Yeah-hoo!" and began to race over to the parsley bowl on the other side of the room, dodging all objects in his way with ease.

Alvin slowed down to a trot as he approached the small box that Dave had meticulously wrapped about a half hour before leaving arm and arm with Claire. The hot-headed chipmunk bit his lip as he stopped before the present, thinking about the consequences of what he was about to do.

_Is this right thing to do, Alvin? _said a miniature Alvin with a harp and a halo that had suddenly appeared on the Alvin's shoulder.

"Arrrrrrrgh!!!" exclaimed Alvin, turning his head around rapidly and stared wide eyed at the odd sight that was resting on his shoulder. "W-Who…er…what are you?" said Alvin, trying to stay balanced as his vision began to sway.

_Hey!, _said the miniature, angelic Alvin, _Stop moving around so much buddy! You'll throw me off, _Alvin stopped moving, and shook his head, disbelieving. _Don't worry, _grinned the tiny Alvin, _You're not crazy, I'm just a clever metaphor for concept of the polarity of right versus wrong. Listen Al, you shouldn't open that gift; it's not yours._

_No, no, no, you got it all wrong sissy boy, _said another voice from Alvin's other shoulder. Alvin whipped his head around to witness another specter appear, this one dressed in a red suit, and decked out with a goatee and tiny, curving horns. Alvin began to feel faint again.

_Al, we go way, _way _back, and you've always trusted me, right? _Alvin, who was staring at this miniature version of himself with an agape, slightly drooling, mouth, slightly nodded his head. _Well then Alvy baby just, trust me on this one; take a peek at Claire's present. Who could it hurt? Besides, _said the illusion, _Remember, it was you that told Dave to get the new iPod for Claire, so it's your right to make sure he got the right one, _the miniature Alvin paused in his dialogue to give the other illusion on Alvin's opposite shoulder a filthy look, _isn't that right Mr. Goodie-Two-Shoes?_

The angelic Alvin looked affronted. _I am NOT a goodie-two-shoes you idiot! Good thing you're all the way over there, or I'd teach you a lesson. And besides, _the miniature Alvin with a halo looked back up at a very confused real Alvin, _that moron over there is totally wrong, what you need to do is-_

"Ok, ok," said the real Alvin, massaging his temples, "Listen, I'm getting a headache and more confused by the second, so…I'm just going to go with this guy," Alvin pointed at the miniature illusion of himself with horns and a goatee. The tiny figure did an arm pump, and stuck his tongue out at the chest-fallen angelic version of Alvin.

The two illusions of Alvin disappeared with a pop, and Alvin turned back to the present and the prospect of opening it up.

"I got to lay off the Lucky Charms," said Alvin with a shake of his head as he climbed into the parsley bowl, now with returned determination to open up Dave's present to Claire, to make sure Dave had gotten his girlfriend something good. Alvin's excitement returned (after disappearing momentarily in the confusion of his encounter with his conscience) and he slowly walked across the bowl's surface towards the object of his obsession.

_Just a quick peek, _thought Alvin as his paw reached out toward the box, his tiny heart again pumping far too fast, _then I'll put all the wrapping paper back on, and everything will be fine…_

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Dave pulled into the driveway with nervousness clawing at his heart.

Dave knew that Simon and Theodore could contain Alvin, and the three boys were probably watching a cartoon on the couch right now, but Dave couldn't be sure. He kept jumping to crazy conclusions, like Alvin had set the house on fire when playing fireman with Theodore, and when he arrived home, there would be a half dozen fire engines in front of his house.

Or that his most energetic chipmunk son had decided to 'improve' the chicken Dave was cooking, and in the process ruined the entire spotless kitchen. Dave knew he was being irrational, but he just wanted this evening to be perfect for Claire, and for her to remember it forever…it a good way.

"Well, things seem to be awful quiet, huh Dave?" asked Claire, looking at her boyfriend, who was busy putting the car into park and turning off the engine.

"Hmm?" said Dave, distracted by thoughts of Alvin spraying mustard all over the walls, "Oh, yeah. The boys are probably just watching TV." Dave and Claire (now with her purse) stepped out of car, and walked to the door.

Dave put his key into the lock, but when he opened the door, he wasn't greeted by the sound of a cartoon character on the TV, but rather complete and utter silence, broken only by odd sounds coming from the kitchen, and high pitched grunts of frustration coming from the living room.

"Hello? Simon?" called Dave to the still and silent house. The sounds of struggle stopped as Dave and Claire walked into the living room, and halted in their tracks.

Simon, who was still pinned to the coffee table, smiled humorlessly at the couple, "Hello, Dave. Claire" said the tallest Chipmunk. Dave and Claire stared in awe at the sight, and Theodore began to squirm uncomfortably under the hard, wooden table.

"Um, Dave…Claire?" said the smallest Chipmunk with a grimace, "If it's not too much trouble…"

This snapped the two adults out of their trance, and Claire rushed over to untie the two boys.

Dave looked at Simon and asked him quietly, "Simon, who did this to you? Is there a burglar in the house? Or is it…wait…" Dave's eyes narrowed as he looked around the room suspiciously, "Where is Alvin?" he asked of Simon.

Simon, who had just been released from his bounding to the table, simply pointed in the direction of the kitchen and shook his head, "We're sorry, Dave," the chipmunk said sincerely.

Dave simply gritted his teeth and began to march to the kitchen.

_Please, please, _thought Dave desperately, _don't be in the parsley bowl, don't be in the parsley bowl, don't be in the parsley bowl, don't be in the parsley-_

As Dave walked into the kitchen, he immediately spotted Alvin in the parsley bowl.

Alvin, who had the remains of the carefully wrapped paper Dave had used to wrap his gift at his feet, was holding in the air a framed picture. The picture showed Claire, Dave, and the Chipmunks all at the waterpark Dave had taken them all to after the Chipmunks had returned from the clutches of Ian Hawke. Everyone in the picture was jumping off a diving board into the icy water below with huge smiles on their faces.

Dave, Simon and Theodore had been to over dozen different stores, looking for the perfect present for Claire, until they came to a film developer's kiosk, and decided a picture of them all was worth more than all the roses, chocolates, and electronics in the world.

Alvin shook his head at this gift, apparently not noticing Dave glowering at him across the room "Jeez, Dave is so cheesy. I told him to get the iPod, but did he listen? No…" Alvin stoked his chin as he thought out loud to himself, "I think I'll have a word with him about his gift selecting choices when he get ho-"

Alvin paused as he finally spotted Dave clenching his fists and gritting his teeth on the other side of the room.

"Oh," said Alvin, his face whitening, "Heh heh, um…" Alvin desperately tried to think of something clever to say that would get him out of trouble.

"S-Surprise, Dave!"

Dave tried to keep his cool, as he took a deep breath in. He failed

"ALLLLL-VIN!!!!!!"

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A/N- I really liked writing this.

To be honest, something just didn't click with me on the previous chapter, and I debated continuing this short.

But boy, am I glad I did.

I think this chapter really feels like my story _A&tC II,_ in its stone and style of writing, and that's something I've been trying to do over the past couple of days. I think I've recaptured the magic I had before I left, and I am now officially pumped to start writing _Alvin and the Chipmunks III_

Be sure to Read and Review!

Oh, and in case you were wondering, yes…I did stay up to 11:30 writing this.

Cya!

-hallhomestead


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